A species of fish wiped out from a Leicester river by pollution 40 years ago is making a comeback.

Anglers on the Sence, near Ibstock, are excited after catching wild grayling for the first time.

Grayling, which can grow up to 2ft, are returning thanks to work to improve the water quality and create a habitat to help them migrate and spawn.

The project is a joint enterprise by the Environment Agency, Gopsall Fishing Club, the Grayling Society and the Wild Trout Trust.

Fishing club chairman Peter Owen said: "This season, our members have reported the capture of the first naturally spawned wild grayling in the river. This is fantastic news, as it demonstrates that all the hard work put in by the club and its partners has restored the habitat.

"It also provides us with some winter fishing beyond the end of the trout season."

The grayling, a fresh water member of the salmon family, is very sensitive to water conditions. Given the right conditions, it can grow to a maximum recorded length of 60cm (24in) with a maximum recorded weight of 6.7 kg (15 lb).

Kristian Kent, press officer for the Grayling Society, said: "We understand the grayling was driven out of this stretch of river because of industrial pollution 40 years ago.

"The fact they are now spawning is the result of a great example of co-operation and conservation."

Improvements in the Sence included creating fish spawning areas and designing new channels to enable fish to migrate around impassable weirs.

Large woody debris was also added to help prevent silt building up in the river – by varying the river flow and keeping the gravel clean to encourage fish to spawn.

More than a mile of fencing was erected to prevent livestock entering the river and prevent overgrazing on the river banks.

The improvements were carried out between 2006 and 2010. The river has been stocked with more than 8,500 grayling, reared at the Environment Agency's fish farm at Calverton, in Nottinghamshire.

Tom Astley, from the Environment Agency, said: "We are delighted to see the fish we stocked have reached maturity and are now spawning in the river.

"We hope the grayling population will go from strength to strength. This is a great example of one of the many projects we deliver as a result of rod licence fee funding.

"It is part of our nationwide aim to conserve and improve wild stocks of trout, sea trout, char and grayling, while also enhancing the environment for all types of fisheries."